CPA News Releases, Advisories, and Editorials

WASHINGTON, D.C.-The progressive movement is alive and well in state legislatures across the nation according to a new study, Progress in the States: A Report on Proactive, Progressive Victories in 2003, released by the Center for Policy Alternatives, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that focuses on state policy.

“While the progressive movement has been stymied by the conservative stranglehold in Washington, state legislators have quietly won a series of surprising, proactive victories in the states,” the study says. “For progressives, both the policies and leaders of tomorrow are developing in state capitals today.”

Progress in the States describes 154 proactive, progressive measures that have become law, or are about to become law, in 2003. Overall, the study demonstrates the vitality and variety of progressive successes in the states.

The study also finds a number of trends:

• The states which enacted the most new progressive laws so far in 2003 are: Illinois and New Mexico (14 laws apiece); Maine (9 laws); Connecticut; Hawaii and Montana (7 laws apiece); and Nevada and Washington (6 laws apiece).
  
  
• The get-tough-on-crime movement is over. Because of the budget crisis in state governments and high prison costs, legislatures are encouraging alternative sentences for nonviolent, low-level offenders.
  
  
• Immigrants are becoming an effective political force. Even as the federal government restricts immigrant rights in the name of homeland security, state governments are expanding opportunities for immigrants.
  
  
• Tobacco companies, and tobacco smokers, are losing battles from coast-to-coast. Tobacco taxes have become one of the most popular means for states to raise revenues. At the same time, both progressive and conservatives states are implementing strict prohibitions on smoking in public places.
  
  
• Advocates for workers have adopted effective new tactics. Moving away from proposals that are expensive for states, labor advocates have found success by focusing on improving employer-financed wages and benefits.
  
  
• States are adopting a variety of new models to lower prescription drug prices. Illinois, Maine, Montana, Nevada, South Dakota and Washington are experimenting with somewhat different strategies to provide lower prices for seniors and the uninsured.
  
  
• Legislators are pushing the envelope of environmental policy in the states. While environmentalists are stuck in defensive battles at the federal level, a wide variety of proactive measures are being enacted across the states addressing electronic waste recycling, energy efficiency, greenhouse gas reduction, and many other environmental matters.
  
  
• Gay rights advocates are enjoying a banner year. States enacted important measures to protect against discrimination, expand hate crime laws, and provide benefits to domestic partners.
  
  
• Finally, even traditionally conservative states are adopting progressive alternatives. This report includes progressive victories in conservative bastions such as Utah, Idaho and Wyoming. When seven different new progressive laws are enacted in Montana, something special is happening.
  
  

A very large number of the progressive laws enacted this year are promoted in the 2003 edition of the Center for Policy Alternatives’ policy handbook, the Progressive Agenda, and on its website, www.stateaction.org. Of the 154 new measures listed, 79 (over half) are similar to CPA-recommended legislation. To view the report, visit www.stateaction.org/2003victories.pdf.

The Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is the nation’s only nonpartisan progressive public policy organization serving state legislators.